Better Safe Than Sorry
by mentalsunflower
Summary: Heehee. A small one-shot on Gippal and Rikku! YAY! BUUT, it ties in with my other story, Just a Memory timeline...so it probably won't make any sense unless you've read it. That's a lie. It will-hopefully.


A/N Aaaah! I just read an awesome G/R one-shot, and now I have the uinevitable craving to write one myself. I just **cannot** leave these two alone!

**Disclaimer**: It's the same as everyone, right? Nothing own I do.

_PS_: This story is in the timeline of my Just a Memory; sorta. It's before the war against the Al Bhed and Yevonites (I realize my earlier chapters SUCK), and Gippal's a workin' on his fighting skills.

_Home: Near dawn, the main courtyard._

Gippal stood up, his young legs shaky from his effort-filled attempts at "training". At just 15, he hated to admit it; he was weak, when all other Al Bhed his age were covered with muscle and deep voices that rumbled. Gippal, on the other hand, was rather scrawny. And—well—his voice was nothing to be proud of.

With a heavy sigh he picked up the small gun that rested beside him on the cold, metallic tile. He ran a hand through his blond hair, his eyes straining with the effort to stay open. Man, was he tired.

He glanced around the courtyard, paranoia still flowing through his system. If anyone; especially those loser 'I'm-a-tough-guy' Al Bhed saw him training, they'd laugh until their deathbed.

He twirled the gun around his finger, which rested in the small finger hold by the trigger. He grinned widely. There! He could at least—_spin_ the gun…

"Oh brother…" He muttered, grabbing the gun before it flung off of his finger. How was it possible to be able to _create_ weapons, take them apart, put them together, tinker with them—know _every. Little. Detail._ About them…and STILL not be able to use them?!

His hair flopped in front of his green eyes, causing him to go sigh heavily, which forced the bangs to blow upwards. He grabbed the gun and bent his knees a little, squinting at the can he had set up as his target. Thank Yevon Al Bhed slept like logs.

His arms shook with nervousness—sweat started to creep down his neck. Why was this so hard? His struggled to focus, and only think of the can sitting right there, just…sitting…uh…

Menacingly! Yea! The can is evil! _Kill_ it!

The gun shook harder, which Gippal didn't think was possible. If he was like this in battle-boy he was a goner.

Why did those stupid Yevonites have to plan a stupid attack on them anyway? It's not like the Al Bhed ever did anything to them! Except…defy the laws and kind of rebel and totally ruin the beliefs, and…

Okay. Yea. Maybe it'd be better _not_ to go in that direction.

And _why_ did he EVER sign up? "I need to prove myself!" He remembered himself yelling at Rikku. Poor Rikku—she cried right then and there, and Gippal had felt his heart nearly tear in two. It wasn't _his _fault he was some scrawny kid people only find humorous and witty at times, with an excellent machina-working skill! _None_ of that stuff was important to those kids that teased him everyday…made fun of him just because he was weaker…

"I am _NOT_ weaker!" He suddenly yelled into the air, tears of frustration leaking out. At that cry, his finger slipped from anger, causing the trigger to go off. With a bang the bullet escaped the hold of the gun and whizzed through the air…in any other direction then the one he wanted it to go—towards the can.

Suddenly a shriek erupted in his ears. It had come from the shadowy corner the bullet had zoomed into. Gippal hit his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Jesus Christ…" He muttered, knowing that shriek anywhere.

"Come _out_ Rikku, I promise not to shoot you again." He called, a cocky smile on his face. But inside, his stomach was gurgling. She'd heard him cry out the "I'm not weak" bit, and also him _trying_ to hit the STUPID can! She was probably more disappointed in him then he thought was humanly possible. Going into war, and then not being able to _fight_…he was in for one looong lecture.

Suddenly a small, blond girl came out from the shadows. She wore blue denim shorts and her favorite orange tank top. Her hair was down with just a few braids in it, and it went down to around her shoulders. She had on only socks, and her hands were bare. No gloves or anything.

_Yevon, she looks beautiful_. He thought, not really paying attention.

_W-WHAT?_ He finally realized what he had just thought. _That's INSANE. Rikku's my best friend! I don't think she's—she's--_

_A goddess? Beautiful? Everything you want in a girl?_

_Shut up. I got rid of those thoughts a long while back._

_Being ten and realizing a nine year old doesn't understand 'I love you' doesn't exactly cause a person to give up._

_…Shut up._ Gippal's inner turmoil was stopped by Rikku poking him on the shoulder.

"Er—Gipp?" She asked, hesitant at first. Gippal shook his head a little and looked down.

"What?"

"What were you—doing?" She asked again, her eyes slightly wider then normal. Odd. How could she be acting like nothing had happen three days before? Like she hadn't burst into tears and screamed at him that he didn't have to be a hero? How could she act like it didn't happen if…if he had caused her so much pain?

"I think it's pretty obvious what I was _trying_ to do." Gippal said rather snarkily, dropping the gun to the ground. "Wouldn't you think?"

Rikku blushed. "I'm _just_ trying to start a conversation!"

"What? At 6:00 in the morning? Sorry, but I'm kind of too tired to be talking right now."

"Well you didn't seem to tired to _shoot_ at me!"

"It's not MY fault you were SPYING!" Gippal cried, childishly stamping his foot. God, why was Rikku being so immature? "WHY were you _spying_ anyway? Got no life of your own or something?"

Rikku's eyes narrowed, and Gippal wondered if she were contemplating kicking him. Most likely.

He sighed heavily. He didn't want to hurt her again. More importantly, _he_ didn't want to get hurt. "Look, Rikku, I'm sorry, all right? I've just been—not in the best of moods lately."

"That's why I had to come check on you!" Rikku cried, her angry look slowly lessening to only 'slightly offended'. Gippal breathed an inner sigh of relief.

"Yea, and I-I appreciate it." He said, grinning. Rikku gave him a tiny smile.

"By the way, I wasn't _spying_. I was—was—" She faultered, and resulted in digging the toe of her sock into the tiles.

"Laughing your knickers off because I can't shoot worth gil?" Gippal asked, now smiling at himself. Rikku giggled.

"Noooo! I was just seeing if you had any warrior skills to actually _use_ in battle. I don't want you looking stupid now, do I?" She asked, giving him a small wink and a child-like grin. Gippal felt his heart flutter, but he growled at it to get back to its original pace. He didn't want any funny business.

Gippal gave her a pouty frown. "Thanks for the confidence boost…Cid's Girl." She growled.

"What a nick name, Gipp. I didn't know you were that creative."

"Gipp isn't that much better, you know."

"It is coming from _me_." Rikku said, grinning. "So, anyway…I decided that, guns are pretty useless when it comes to you…" She started to babble on and on about different types of weapons, but Gippal just kind of zoned out-like any guy does when a girl starts to lecture.

_God she's pretty when she's thinking._ He thought dully.

_What's WRONG with me? Rikku is my FRIEND, not my-my_-

_Aw, what the heck. I might as well just suck it up and admit the truth-Rikku means everything to me._

"…and SOOOOO, I picked the weapon of choice for you!" Rikku said, rummaging through a small bag. "Here. These are for you."

She handed him another brown bag, smaller in size then her larger one. Gippal opened it up and gasped.

"Grenades?" He asked, grinning. _Grenades_. What an awesome weapon. But he hadn't been able to get his hands on any…all the Al Bhed were too greedy.

"Where'd ya get them?!" He asked, a huge smile plastered on his face. Rikku grinned.

"I made 'em myself!"

Gippal felt his jaw drop. "_YOURSELF_?! WOW! This is AWESOME Rikku!" He have her a big hug, lifting her off the ground and twirling her around. Rikku giggled.

"I hate being this happy when the thing that caused it is a weapon I made." Rikku said, laughing as Gippal set her down. He grinned. "Yea…what are you gonna do, hey?" There was a small silence, in which Gippal check the time. Already almost 7:00. His friend, Vinado would be up soon to give out the newspapers to all the Al Bhed.

"Don't die." Rikku suddenly whispered. Gippal, startled, glanced down to see the girl with tears silently streaming down her face.

"Huh?" He asked stupidly, forgetting to comfort her or anything. He just stood there, his eyes confused. Well, it HAD come out of nowhere.

She sniffed. "I just—I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. I mean, you've been such a big part of my life, and to lose you, I'd just feel so empty…and-and alone…" She broke down into sobs, and Gippal stared, horrified at her.

What was he supposed to do? She was _crying_! Men don't do good when their friends cry! (Usually because they're not girls). What was he supposed to do?

"Hey-uh-don't worry." He said, taking a step closer and resting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be fine. No one can kill me. I'm invincible." He said with a smile. Rikku shook her head.

"No. No you're _not_. Don't act like this is another joke, okay? Because it's not. This is your _life_ and you're treating it like some-some game or something!"

Gippal sighed, and in one swift movement pulled her into a hug. There. _That_ shut her up.

"Cunno, Rikku." He muttered, which meant Sorry in Al Bhed. "I don't want you to cry, okay? Because it makes me feel bad. If I feel bad, I don't fight good. You need to stay happy-for me, okay?" He asked, stepping away from the hug to look into her eyes. She let out one final sniff.

"Fine. I'll stay happy—for you."

"And never stop being happy, okay?"

"Okay." She answered dully, puling at one of her braids. "But—just DON'T die."

Gippal smiled. "Don't worry. The Farplane isn't lookin' like home yet."

Rikku giggled. Suddenly, a voice called out through the chilly air. Gippal could have punched that voice. Just when him and Rikku were getting along again, they might, HE might have-well, done SOMETHING.

"Hullo Vinado." Gippal said dully, turning around to see him. Vinado, with short blond hair and one of those full Al Bhed suits, waved at him, a camera stuck in his hand. Gippal glanced up at it, ignoring his friends hello.

"What's the camera for?" He yelled across the courtyard.

"Dunno…I just got it and it's pretty cool, huh?"

Gippal felt his brain turning, and suddenly, (after a few moments of gears clicking and whirring) something klunked into place.

"Vinado! Get over here!" He motioned with his arm. Rikku looked at him. "What're you doing?" She asked. Gippal just smiled as his friend came.

"All right. Snap us one!" He said, grinned and wrapping his hand around Rikku's waist. She gasped slightly, but soon turned a deep crimson with a small plastered on her face.

_I could swear she has the same feelings for me._

"All right!" Vinado said happily. Rikky quickly propped her elbow up on his shoulder, and the two gave the friend huge smiles.

Vinado handed Gippal the instant picture. "Thanks." Gippal said, still amazed Rikku had allowed his arm around her waist.

"No problem!" Vinado cried. Soon he was gone down one of the many branching paths.

"Nice picture." Gippal said approvingly. Rikku smiled up at him.

"Hey-Gippal. Mind taking your arm off of me?"

Gippal glanced down and blushed.

_You didn't let go, STUPID._

Gippal gave her a cocky grin. "Not before I do this."

He swooped down and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Rikku blushed, but didn't slap him or anything.

_Well, that's good._ He thought. But he did take his arm off of her. He was rather reluctant though.

"Well, I guess I better go." He finally said, breaking the awkward tension between them. When Rikku said nothing, he swerved around on his heel, a little disappointed Rikku hadn't done anything to return his favor.

Maybe he had just made a complete idiot of himself.

"Gippal! Wait!" He heard Rikku running up behind him. He turned around to look down at her.

"What?"

"Incase I don't-you know, see you again for a while…" She was blushing, and Gippal was starting to get rather nervous.

"What?" He repeated.

She leaned up on her tippy-toes and gave him a quick kiss-right on the lips.

Gippal felt his face turn crimson as she began to pull away. But he didn't let her. For some odd, unknown reason, he grabbed her around the waist and held her up to him, deepening the kiss, refusing to let her lips pull away. He heard a contented sigh from her, and felt his adrenaline rush, when suddenly—

"RIKKU!" They heard the shrill voice of Brother calling. The two ripped apart, blushing.

"Uh—I think it's best, and safest, if we don't-you know-say anything about this again, huh?" Gippal asked, a little frightened of Brother's strength. Rikku nodded vigorously.

"Well, I gotta go." Gippal said once more. With a quick hug, he whispered "Good-bye Cid's Girl."

And then he was off.

A/N: Oh my GAWD that was TERRIBLE! Augh, it went on forever, barely has anything with those guys being "together"…

But on a happier note, if you have read my story, THAT'S where the picture on Gippal's wall came from. Just wanted to add that in there somewhere. Also, this is why Rikku's constnatly happy and perky when things are bad-she's doing it for Gippal.I KNOOOW it's bad, and I'll probably start another story on them soon, but I just had a craving for them. R&R, please!


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